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UPSC Civil Services GK Questions 2026

Static general knowledge is six of the seven lines of the General Studies Paper-I syllabus in the UPSC CSE notice: History of India and the Indian National Movement; Indian and World Geography; Indian Polity and Governance; Economic and Social Development; Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change; and General Science. The Commission tests understanding rather than recall, through statements to be judged correct or incorrect, pairs to be matched and assertion-reason items, and it likes the edges of a topic: a lesser-known provision of the Constitution, a river's tributary, a species' conservation status, the mandate of a statutory body. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes for UPSC, written as short facts and tables, in English and Hindi, with each note linked to the current affairs and previous-year questions on the same topic. Start with Polity and Modern History, which carry the most questions, then Geography, the Economy, Environment, Ancient and Medieval culture and Science. Read a note, solve its PYQs, take its quiz, and come back to it in your monthly revision. A candidate who knows these notes and reads the daily current affairs has covered the syllabus the notice prescribes for Paper-I.

UPSC Civil Services GK Questions with Answers

Q11525.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · 5 Feb 2017Medium

George Washington was made the Commander in Chief of the American forces:

  1. A.In December 1773, after the Boston Tea Party
  2. B.At the First Continental Congress in September 1774
  3. C.At the Second Continental Congress in 1775
  4. D.By the Continental Congress at the Declaration of Independence on 4th July, 1776
Show answer
Correct answer: C. At the Second Continental Congress in 1775

The Congress met in Philadelphia in May 1775, soon after the fighting at Lexington and Concord, and in June it appointed George Washington commander-in-chief of the newly created Continental Army.

Q11526.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · 2 Feb 2020Medium

Which one among the following was demanded by the All India Depressed Classes Leaders' Conference at Bombay in 1931?

  1. A.Universal adult suffrage
  2. B.Separate electorates for untouchables
  3. C.Reserved seats for the minorities
  4. D.A unitary State in India
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Separate electorates for untouchables

The conference met in Bombay in 1931 and resolved that the depressed classes must be allowed to elect their own representatives through separate electorates, a demand Dr B. R. Ambedkar carried to the Second Round Table Conference in London the same year.

Q11527.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · 10 April 2022Medium

Which one of the following would be considered as Foreign Direct Investment?

  1. A.A foreign company buying shares in stock exchanges in India
  2. B.A foreign country pension fund investing in Indian stock markets
  3. C.A foreign merchant banker buying shares from Indian stock markets
  4. D.A foreign entity setting up an educational institution in India
Show answer
Correct answer: D. A foreign entity setting up an educational institution in India

Setting up an institution in India means putting money into a real asset and running it, which is exactly what Foreign Direct Investment is.

Q11529.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · 14 Feb 2016Medium

Which of the following is not a 'Public Good'?

  1. A.Electricity
  2. B.National Defence
  3. C.Light House
  4. D.Public Parks
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Electricity

Economists call something a public good when it has two features: it is non-rival, so one person's use does not reduce what is left for others, and non-excludable, so nobody can be kept out of the benefit.

Q11530.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · 5 Feb 2017Hard

What was/were the formative influence(s) on the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi? 1. Gandhiji was influenced by the 18th century Pranami sect that advocated the unity of faiths. 2. Gandhiji was influenced by the theosophists. 3. Gandhiji was an admirer of the writings of Romantics like Wordsworth. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.2 and 3 only
  3. C.1, 2 and 3
  4. D.1 only
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Gandhi's mother Putlibai belonged to the Pranami sect, a Vaishnava tradition that drew on both Hindu and Islamic teaching and held that faiths are one; the household he grew up in therefore treated religious tolerance as ordinary.

Q11531.Indian HistoryAsked in: CDS · 04 Sep 2022Hard

The British policy towards Afghanistan in the first half of the 19th century aimed at

  1. A.Strengthening Afghanistan as a buffer against Russia.
  2. B.Weakening Russian influence in Afghanistan but not promoting a strong Afghanistan either.
  3. C.Promoting Russian influence in Afghanistan to control insurgent tribal leaders.
  4. D.Annexing Afghanistan as a directly-controlled British Territory.
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Weakening Russian influence in Afghanistan but not promoting a strong Afghanistan either.

The British wanted Russian influence kept out of Kabul, but they did not want a strong Afghan state on the north-west frontier either, because a powerful neighbour would be hard to control.

Q11532.Indian PolityAsked in: CDS · 3 Feb 2019Medium

The Inter-State Council was set up in 1990 on the recommendation of ________.

  1. A.Punchhi Commission
  2. B.Sarkaria Commission
  3. C.Rajamannar Commission
  4. D.Mungerilal Commission
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Sarkaria Commission

The Inter-State Council was constituted in 1990 by a presidential order acting on this commission's report on centre-state relations. Article 263 empowers the President to set up such a council to inquire into disputes between states, discuss subjects of common interest and make recommendations.

Q11533.GeographyAsked in: CDS · 5 Feb 2017Hard

Which one of the following statements with regard to Jet stream, an upper level troposphere wave, is not correct?

  1. A.It is a narrow band of high-velocity wind.
  2. B.It follows the wave path near the tropopause at elevations of 8 km to 15 km.
  3. C.Jet streams are typically continuous over long distances.
  4. D.In summer, the polar front jet achieves its maximum force.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. In summer, the polar front jet achieves its maximum force.

The polar front jet is strongest in winter, not in summer, so this statement is the incorrect one. A jet stream is a fast, narrow ribbon of westerly wind in the upper troposphere, and its speed depends on the temperature contrast across the front below it.

Q11534.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · UPSC CAPF AC 2023 Official Paper-IHard

Which one of the following statements with reference to the ancient Indian coins is not correct?

  1. A.The Indo-Greeks issued the first coins bearing the name and images of rulers.
  2. B.The Kushanas issued the first gold coins.
  3. C.The Kushana gold coins were different in weight from the coins issued by contemporary Roman emperors.
  4. D.These Kushana gold coins have been found from several sites in north India and central Asia.
Show answer
Correct answer: C. The Kushana gold coins were different in weight from the coins issued by contemporary Roman emperors.

The Kushana gold coins were struck on the same weight standard as the Roman aureus of the time, not on a different one, because the dynasty traded briskly with the Roman world and found it convenient to match that standard.

Q11536.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC CAPF · 12 July 2015Hard

Which of the following was/were not part/parts of the RIN Mutiny?

1. Indian National Army

2. HMIS Talwar

3. Hunger strike by naval ratings

4. Lord Irwin

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 and 2
  2. B.2 and 3
  3. C.1 and 4
  4. D.4 only
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 1 and 4

The Royal Indian Navy mutiny began on 18 February 1946, when the ratings of HMIS Talwar in Bombay went on a hunger strike against bad food and racial insults.